Forget (UsUk)
by Pochemuchkkaa
Summary: The world is dying; society is crumbling. Everything that was once joy and happiness have seemingly been consumed. Why is it that his blue eyes pierce the darkness? (Eventual SuFin)


" _O quam cito transit gloria mundi!" O how quickly passes the glory of the world!_

Arthur stepped through the narrow alley. He was aware it was stupid to go into a dark, rather enclosed space in such a suspicious city, but there wasn't much else to do. He figured he'd fare better here than in if he were to walk through the main streets.

He had came here thinking it would be in better shape than most areas were now, but from what he saw the city was wasting away at nearly the same pace as everything else. The city, which was...some city in New York, was eerily quiet. There was no lack of people, however. There were women, children, men, all walking through the dirty streets. Most of the people wore dirty, disheveled clothing. Too baggy, full of rips, not to mention the stains. Most wouldn't even look at him. Some would walk past without a glance, others however, would stare.

Now that he was alone in the alley he could focus more on the city itself. It was grim but not entirely destroyed. The buildings still stood and there seemed to be some sort of order amongst it. Perhaps, he thought, he could stay here. He had to admit that compared to some of the other areas he'd seen, or more heard about, this area wasn't terribly rough. He had seen a few things already that proved that this city was _safer_ not necessarily _safe_. He wouldn't trust that if he met the wrong group of people he'd be done for in a heartbeat.

What the world had become was something terrible. People turned against people at the drop of a hat. He remembered Allistor saying something about cannibalism in Eastern Europe before he… Arthur didn't want to bother thinking about what happened. It had happened, and now he was here. If he wanted to even try to stay alive he needed to get over it. The past is the past. The only thing that mattered now was the present.

The slow awareness that it would be dark soon began to nip at England. It was getting colder and darker quickly. He sighed, not sure what was least likely to put him at risk. A part of him didn't particularly care what happened to him anymore, but a greater portion of him felt obliged to at least try to survive. Make it up to those who hadn't been able to make it out.

Arthur slid down a building wall and hugged his knees. Would staying here be alright? He knew if he stayed where he was it would probably be one of the stupidest decisions he's ever made. He'll move in a minute he tells himself. He's just so exhausted. He's gotten so little sleep these past few months and he'd walked nearly all day to get here. It couldn't possibly hurt to just rest for a moment. It is not that dark yet, he probably has a few minutes before he needs to start looking for somewhere to go.

When he wakes up it is considerably darker than when he closed his eyes. Fear jolts him up. He heard something. A soft mew echoes hauntingly against the confining walls. Arthur glanced at the cat, with a relieved expression. He kneeled down to pet it. It rubbed against his hand and began to purr contentedly. It had been so long since Arthur had gotten to share any compassion with anything, human or otherwise. He is in a dark alley, petting a cat and it is one of the most satisfying moments in a long time.

The peace is abruptly broken by a thundering bark, Arthur barely has time to get up before a big white mass tears through the shadows. The cat is long gone.

The dog cautiously jogged up to Arthur. It's lips curled ever so slightly back, scarcely exposing a set of sharp teeth. The canine is not something to scoff at. Its massive size is intimidating enough, a thick coat of fur on top of that adds to its fearsomely large appearance. Its eyes narrowed watching Arthur's every movement, its weight was shifted forward, ready to lunge or chase after its victim. Arthur hear rushed footsteps. This is not good. He tries to slowly back away, maybe the dog will let him go if he shows he's not a threat. This proved to be a futile effort, the dog barking and curling its lips into a bigger snarl and stepping closer to Arthur.

The dog was trapping him, purposely keeping him there unable to escape until the owner of those footsteps arrived. Arthur feels hopelessly trapped.

The footsteps were getting ever closer. Arthur fearfully took a step back, someone who has a giant attack dog is not someone he cares to meet. The dog snarled at the movement. The footsteps were right around the corner. Arthur's eyes widen in fear. The man is...not particularly what he expected. Blond, blue eyes and seems odd compared to most people he'd seen around here. Arthur is fairly sure the man is younger than him too. What was most relieving to Arthur though, was the man's curious expression. He didn't look malicious or like he planned to do anything. However, Arthur was still concerned. Why would someone with no intent to harm him own a dog that just chased him down. Also, Arthur noticed, by the man's side stood another dog; smaller than the first but definitely not small. It watched Arthur sternly, but did not move or show any sign of aggression, it only looked aloof and alert.

"Snowball heel!" The white boulder of a dog turned its head a begrudgingly left to its master's side. The man had a dog on each side and Arthur was absolutely terrified. Snowball? He watched the white dog who glared at him back. That beast was called "Snowball".

The man walked closer to Arthur and extended a hand. "Sorry about that! Snow gets too excited sometimes, haha! She's a good dog though." Arthur stares at the out stretched hand. The only thing he can think is that this man is absolutely insane.

The American cocked his head with a confused look, but lowered his hand. "I'm Alfred Jones!" The man introduced himself cheerily. Arthur just stared. "This is Snowball and Blitz" Alfred said, gesturing to the two dogs on either side of him.

There was a small gap of silence before the energetic American spoke again. "So, what are you doing here? It's kinda odd for people to just be out in alleys this late. Not too safe either" Arthur finally regained his ability to comprehend reality. "I…" He started pitifully but it died out. He didn't know what he is going to do. Hell, he never had a plan at all. He could only afford to focus on the present. "I got here earlier today and had nowhere else to go. I figured I'd have better luck avoiding people in the alleys than the main roads." Saying it outloud, Arthur realised how stupid it sounded.

Alfred watched him with curious eyes. "Your voice is funny" He noted. Arthur didn't bother to hold in a scoff. "It's called an accent."

Surprisingly a smidge of embarrassment found its way to the obnoxious Americans face. "Yeah, I know. I just- Where are you from? It's odd to see new people around here, especially people far off enough to have a whole nother accent."

"England." Arthur answered, short and curt. "I came to America not quite a month ago. I was looking for somewhere to go and I ended up here." He added, deciding that he probably shouldn't burn bridges with the one person in this town who would acknowledge his existence.

Alfred nodded. "That's pretty far away." Arthur didn't comment.

"You never said your name." Alfred questioned. "Oh, how rude of me." Arthur said flatly. "It's Kirkland, Arthur Kirkland"  
"Well, Arthur, you probably don't want to hang around alleys too much" There was a light chuckle in Alfred's voice. "There's worse places out there but it still dangerous here. People won't hesitate to take advantage of the fact you don't know your way around." His voice was darker as he added that. "You keep saying how dangerous it is to be out here, so what're you doing here?"

Alfred laughed. "There's people who walk around here looking for people like you. I make sure they can't do anything. The police stopped caring a long time ago."

So that's what he's doing, Arthur thought. He's trying to be some big hero. Arthur couldn't stop himself. "That's incredibly stupid. How exactly do you plan on defending yourself when you finally come across them?"

Alfred huffed, obviously offended. "You make it sound like I'm new to this. I've been doing it for a while. And to answer your question, no one could get past Snow and Blitz. And this doesn't hurt either" He stopped to pull a pistol out from his jacket. Reflexively Arthur steps back. Alfred puts it back in his jacket and Arthur relaxes a little.

"Hey, so you have nowhere to go, right? Because I'd be glad to let you stay with me for the night." Alfred offered, wearing a friendly grin. "That would be nice if you don't mind."

 **A/N: W** **ell, fuck. This has been sitting in my Google Docs "finished" for over a month. :/ I really wanted it to be longer but I'm not beating a dead horse, I just want to upload this. I am very slow at updating but hopefully I'll get this updated fairly often, at least for the rest of the summer.**

 **I was inspired by Gutters but this will only be similar in the fact they are both post - apocalyptic settings.**

 **By the way Alfred's dogs are a Kuvasz and an Akita Inu. They're so cute oml.**

 **I hate titles. So much. This title sounds cheesy and gross. It makes sense eventually but still, ew. I AM SO SORRY FOR THE TERRIBLE DESCRIPTION. I swear I'll change it eventually.**


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